Renewed call for storm-impacted grower support
Published on 18 September 2026
Mildura Rural City Council has reiterated its call this week for all levels of government to support Sunraysia growers devastated by this year’s March rain event as the flow-on impacts on other industries become increasingly evident.
Mildura Mayor Ali Cupper said these flow-on impacts illustrated the critical role the agriculture sector played in our region’s economy.
“Our growers are the engine room of the Sunraysia economy and an indispensable part of the Victorian and National economies,” Cr Cupper said.
“We will not allow them to be forgotten.”
Sunraysia Table Grape Association Committee member Tim Milner said while the March rain event may be a distant memory for many, for impacted growers it was still very real.
Mr Milner said there were numerous stories of growers not only facing a total loss of annual income but falling further into financial strife as a result of the storm.
“From the outside it looks OK as you can see many farms are running again, but you look a little deeper and you see growers selling off items, including on social media, to find any way they can to get income in,” he said.
“There are quite a few growers that have not just lost an entire year’s income – they’re going into the negative as they still have bills to pay, rates to pay and interest to pay.
“So even if some of those growers can manage to get a crop this coming year, they’re fighting from so far back financially.”
He said this was now being seen in related agriculture businesses as many growers were no longer replacing equipment, which was impacting local businesses.
Mr Milner said another indicator of the need for urgent government support was that there were now signs of long-term damage to some vines as a result of the March rain event.
“Now that the buds are shooting, we can now see there’s hangover effects on the vine health and there are some growers who aren’t able to grow a decent crop,” he said.
Mayor Cupper, who is in regular contact with growers, said this latest evidence further strengthens the need for urgent support from all levels of government to help the plight of growers.
“We need action now from government to support our struggling growers who’ve endured a nightmare year, and we’re now seeing this hurt spreading into other areas of our community and economy,” she said
ENDS